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Move To Bridge Demand-Supply Gap In Pharma Industry
Pharma-academia meet will identify courses in demand, says APSSDC chairman
Youth in the State lack skillsets specific to pharma industry necessitating training programmes designed exclusively for this sector in collaboration with the industry and the academia, said Chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) C. Madhusudhan Reddy, on Wednesday.
Addressing an “Industry-Academia Connect in Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector” held at Tadepalli, Mr. Reddy said only 5% of the youth were able to secure jobs, while the remaining 95% did not have the skills needed to be part of the industry. This was precisely the reason, he pointed out, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy decided to provide 75% of the jobs to the local youth by giving them a platform to hone their skills.
Skill development institutes
Mr. Reddy said multi-skill development institutes were being established in each constituency to develop skilled manpower and make it available to the local industry. He said the pharma-academia meet should identify the courses in demand and impart training accordingly, and said he would recommend a committee on implementation of pharma skills training.
Managing Director and CEO of the Corporation Arja Srikanth said the pharma industry offered vast employment opportunities and these should be tapped by training the youth. He said the meeting, attended by 40 industry partners and other stakeholders, mainly aimed at mapping, planning and executing skill development programmes designed specifically for the pharma sector.
The event was organised by the APSSDC, in collaboration with Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council (LSSSDC), representatives of the industry and academia.
10,000 staff needed
Former president of AP Pharmacy Council AVB Reddy said the pharma industry would need over 10,000 employees in the next five years. There was a need to make those many youth industry-ready, he added.
Director, Life Sciences wing, JNTU-Kakinada, D. Prasad, called for innovative technologies to get youth interested in these courses and make them employable.
Mentor, ELIZ Global, L. Srinivas, Executive Director, APSSDC Hanuma Naik and others were present. – The Hindu
